Grain-cutter.



S. l. DERR.

GRAIN CUTTER. APPLICATI N FILED OCT. 25. nus.

1,201,025. Patented 0ct.*10,1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

WITNESSES INVENTOR gnu/Lu, )g By M M Arman/Us s. I. DERR.

GRAIN CUTTER. APPLICATION FILED 0CT.25. 1915.

Patented Oct. 10, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES an {3 y MQ I l I n ATTORNEYS rnvrrn SAMUEL I. DEER, 0F EMAUS, PENNSYLVANIA.

GRAIN-CUTTER.

Application filed October 25, 1915.

T 0 all 10 ham it may concern Be it known that I, SAMUEL 1. Drum, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Emaus, in the county of Lehigh and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and Improved Grain-Cutter, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to cutting machinery and has particular reference to a device for cutting oats or other grains for chicken feed.

More definitely stated, among the chief objects of the invention is to provide a machine of suitable size to be operated either by hand or motor power and adapted to cut oats, barley or similar grains into short transverse lengths rendering thereby the entire grain with its hull attached in suitable form for even small chicks. It is well known that oats constitute a most suitable feed for growing chicks, but it has been diflicult heretofore to prepare the oats in suitable form for feeding small chicks.

A further object of the invention is to so treat whole oats that the hard shell or hull is not separated from the kernel and thereby making it practical for all of the grain including the hull to be eaten with a relish, eliminating waste and providing for the chicks the full nutrient value of the feed.

A still further object of the inventionis to provide a machine operated by hand power whereby every farmer or poultry keeper may in a few moments cut a considerable amount of grain for his birds, the machine being made to operate rapidly with a minimum amount of power and being of a nature necessitating slight expenditure as to original cost and practically nothing for upkeep.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists in the arrangement and c'ombinationofparts hereinafter described and claimed, and while the invenion is not restricted to the exact details of construction disclosed herein, still for the purpose of illustrating a practical embodiment thereof reference is had to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same parts in the several views, and in which Figure 1. is a vertical section on the line 11 of Fig. 2; Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on the line 22 of Fig. 1; Figs. 3 and 4 Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 1Q, 1916.

Serial No. 57,755.

are detail perspective views of small parts referred to later; and Fig. '5 is a sectional detail on the line 5-5 of Fig 1.

At 10 is indicated the base of the machine adapted to be secured rigidly to some suitable fixed support.

At 11 and 12 are indicated the front and rear face plates of the machine arranged parallel to each other and constituting the main bearing supports for the operating parts of the cutting devices.

The base and face plates above described constitute the main parts of the rigid structure and but for the transverse members 13 and 14c constituting also parts of the cutting devices, no other frame parts are required Any suitable form of hopper 15 may be provided for the top of the frame for directing the grain into the machine.

At 16 is indicated a power shaft journaled in the base and adapted to be operated by hand or otherwise. This shaft carries a pinion 17 and may be fitted, if desired, with a fly wheel 18 for the usual purpose.

The aforesaid transverse member 13 constitutes an inclined plate serving as a portion of the bottom of the hopper and acting to direct the grain over a slightly upturned point 13 into a distributing chamber 19 formed between the plate 13 and the other transverse bracing member 11 fixed rigidly in position. The upper portion of the member 14 is inclined and arranged substantially perpendicular to the plate 13 and supports an adjustable agitator 20 in the form of a flexible plate carried by a rigid plate 21 held by a screw 22 passing through a slot 23 in said upper end of the member 14. The lower edge of the agitator 20 is adapted to be adjusted toward or away from the upper surface of the plate 13 to control the volume of delivery from the hopper.

A cam member'24 shown in the form of a roller is journaled in the face plates and has a series of feed pockets 25 shownas four in number with a projecting rib 26 at each corner or between each two adjacent pockets. Each of these ribs is adapted to bear more orless firmly against the under surface of the agitator plate 20 to insure the flow of the grain from the hopper. Any other suitable agitating means, however, may be provided. The agitator 20 and the roller 24 control the volume of flow of the grain into the feed chamber 19. The grains to be cut 7 fall over the-point 13 intothe feed chamber as a heterogeneous mass irrespective of the direction of the grains.

- At 27 is indicated a feed drum journaled on a horizontal axis in the face plates and operating closely against the lower edge of the member 14, guardingthe bottom of the feed chamber and having a closely arranged parallel series of pockets 28 adapted to receive a quantity of grains from the feed chamber and carry them over the drum beneath a brush29 also in the form of a roller preferably of metal andhaving a roughened surface. tively high speed and in a direction such that its active surface moves in a reverse direction to the adjacent surface of the drum; thereby the number of grains carried by each pocket 28 is limitedto a predetermined capacity. The pockets 28 are made narrow enough to insure that the grains of oats will lie longitudinally therein only.

At 30 is indicated a guard secured between the face plates and curved to conform to the cutter drum.

circumference of the drum and lying closely against that side thereofopposite the feed chamber. The loweredge 30 of this guard is tapered and insures that the grains of oats will-be carried by the drum and delivered into pockets 31 formed in what I may term a cutter drum 32. The cutter drum is of thesame size as the feed drum 27 and is operated at the same speed. The grains to be out are delivered from one pocket 28 directly into one pocket 31 at the top of the The cutter drum consists of a series of similar disks 32 mounted upon a shaft 33 with the several notches 31 in alinement with one another throughout the length of the drum. These disks are spaced a slight distance apart by spacing washers 34 and a thin steel each having a beveled cutting edge 37. The knives are mounted upon a shaft V 38 arranged parallel to and substantially on the same horizontal plane as the shaft 33, but driven at a higher speed than the shaft 33, wherejby the surface velocity of the knives is greater than the surfacevelocity of the cutter drum. Each knife operates within the space between two adjacent cutter disks 32 and the cutting edge 37 thereof extends far enough into such space toward the disk 34 therein to pass beyond the bottoms of the notches or pockets 31. Each g ai thsrefo re, carri in pocket 31 wil This brush operates at comparabe cut into short lengths corresponding to the distance between adjacent cutting edges 37. The cuts thus formed are sharp and clean and the hull and kernel being cut together always remain in their original positions. The grains are held in cutting position in the pockets 31 after being received from the around closely to the peripheries of the cutter disks 32 but their upper free ends are bent outwardly therefrom in a substan tially vertical direction. A bar 42 serves to hold the free upper ends of the fingers in place. A sheet metal shield 43 extends along the face of the feed drum opposite the guard 30. The upper edge of the shield is secured to the brace member 14 and the lower edge thereof extends between the ends of the fingers 39 and the cutter drum. For convenience of assemblage the blades and cutter disks are formed with square centered holes whereby they are threaded upon the respective shafts 38 and 33. The blades are spacedfrom one another by spacing washers 44, the diameters of which are such that they reach practically tothe fingers adjacent the cutter drum. 7

On the opposite side of the machine from the cutter blades are a series of strippers 45 shown in detail in Figs. 1 and 4. These consist of thin fiat metal plates each having a hole 46 whereby it is threaded upon a supporting rod 47 adjacent or just above the base. Each stripper has a fiatedge 48 resting upon the base and holding the point 49 against the periphery of the spacer 34, while the edge 50 between the point and the base 48 serves to positively eject the cut product from the several pockets 31 delivering the same into a chute 51.

The arbor 38 for the cutting blades '36 has a gear 52 meshing with the power shaft pinion 17, and to the other end of the same arbor is secured a pinion 5'3 meshing with a larger gear 54 secured to the arbor 33 of the cutter drum. This gear 54 meshes with and drives a similar gear secured to the feed drum shaft 56. The shaft 24 having the pockets 25 is driven from the aforesaid gearing in the same direction by virtue of an idler pinion (not shown). The metal brush 29 has connected to one end a pinion meshing with a double pinion 61 driven directly from the gear 52.

With the parts constructed and arranged as shown herein, and with the relative speeds of rotation as indicated by the different sizes of gear wheels, the machine is of simple and positive operation. tively little power is required to operate it and yet it is adapted to cut in fine or short lengths, oats, barley, wheat, rye, or other grains or commodities at a rapid rate. The machine is not likely to become out of order or require many repairs. The cutterblades, though of a thin nature, are exceedingly strong in view of the manner of mounting and protecting the same. A set of blades, however, may easily be removed from their arbor 38 and another set put in their place when necessary. All other parts of the machine are practically indestructible with ordinary care.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 5, the plate 13 is adapted to be adjusted up or down for the purpose of diminishing or increasing the amount of grain fed from the hopper. This plate is adapted to be locked in position by action of a pair of set screws 13 acting against the side edges of the plate, one screw being above and the other below the same. The inner ends of the screws are conical or tapered, and by loosening one of them and tightening the other, the plate will be adjusted as required. I also show a take-up plate 63 countersunk in one of the side plates 12, and with this plate there cooperate suitable set screws 64 whereby the cutting elements may be tightened as may be required for various conditions of wear or the like. The cutter drum is sufficiently longer than the feeding drum to insure that all of the grains will be received and cut in the notches 31 in a longitudinal position, thereby insuring that they will all be cut into short lengths by transverse cuts.

I claim 1. In a machine of the character set forth, the combination of a pair of side plates Comparacountersunk on their opposing inner surfaces, a cutter drum having its ends extending into the countersunk portions of the plates and having longitudinal pockets, a feed drum of diameter similar. to the cutter drum and operating with its circumferential surface in close contact with the surface of the cutter drum, said feed drum having a similar series of longitudinal pockets adapted to deliver singly into the respective cutter drum pockets, means to hold the material in the cutter drum pockets, cutting devices cooperating with the cutter drum to cut the material transversely into short lengths, and means to deliver the cut material from the cutter drum and machine.

2. In a machine of the character set forth, the combination of a pair of spaced vertical side plates having opposed depressions countersunk therein, series of cutter disks having alined peripheral pockets adapted to receive material to be cut into short lengths, the end disks of the series being located in said depressions, take-up plates between the end disks and the bottoms of the depressions, means acting on the plates to tighten the disks, means to deliver the material into said pockets, means to hold the material therein until cut, a series of spacing washers between the several disks, circular cutting devices acting between the several disks to cut the material into short lengths, and a series of strippers extending between adjacent disks, each stripper having a point extending into proximity to one of the spacing disks and having an ejecting edge cooperating with the cutter disks to eject the cut material therefrom.

, SAMUEL I. DERR. Witnesses:

JosErH H. RoEMIc,

FRANCIS J. ARNER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). 0. 

